Renegotiating the Price of a Short Sale – After Appraisal 
Here’s my latest SOLD short sale in Sacramento. The bank, in this case Wells Fargo, wanted $175,000 and my clients accepted an offer at $175,000. The short sale approval was issued, the house was now pending sale, and the buyers started their inspections. All was going well until the appraisal. The appraisal came back with a value of $168,000. Now what?
The bank was originally NOT willing to take less for this home than $175,000. Now the buyer’s lender will NOT loan them all the money they need to buy at that price. Time to renegotiate the short sale! Armed with the appraisal, I had my ammunition. Wells Fargo took another look at the value. Even though prior opinions told them the home was worth $180,000, at this point in time, it’s only worth $168,000.
Wells Fargo knows, if this buyer walks away, the house will still only be worth $168,000. Any new buyer will also have trouble getting a loan for this home. The bank can wait for a cash offer, because there is no appraisal, but that’s risky and can’t be counted on. They have already spent their own time and money getting this Sacramento short sale to the point it now it. They know that at this point, the best move is to lower the purchase price to $168,000.
If you are a buyer or a seller and find yourself in this short sale situation, remember that even if the bank seems like they are holding firm at their original value, they often renegotiate the price after a low appraisal. As a short sale, real estate broker for the last 15 years, I have been faced by this situation many times. 90% of the time, I am able to renegotiate the price with the bank and sell the home.
Renegotiating the Price of a Short Sale – After Appraisal
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